Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Haunted Places in Utah: Are They for Real?

Every October as I pull out my fake cobwebs, three foot spider, and an array of skeletons from my closet (no pun intended), I also like to wipe the dust off of any literature that gives me to heeby-jeebies. For book club, we do the same. In the past we have given ourselves nightmares by reading books like The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde, Blood Moon by Teri Harman, Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron, and Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice.

Now, I'm not one to fall for staged sightings of UFO's and I'm rarely scared by the Halloween haunted forests that come 'a callin' every October (though the Haunted Forest in American Fork did once make me scream). But, I'm not going to lie and say I haven't felt something akin to the paranormal before.

Ever been in a place and felt your skin crawl or a rush of air when no windows were open? What about the strange feeling that someone was watching you? If you haven't had any of these feelings or sensations, you owe it to yourself this October to experience the paranormal. Let's take Utah: are there really haunted places in our own backyard? You be the judge.

Five Haunted Places in Utah:

1.) Rio Grande Train Depot (300 S. Rio Grande St. Salt Lake City) - home to the Utah State Historic Society, a ghost known as "The Purple Lady" haunts the tracks. This apparition was once a scorned woman, whose fiance threw her engagement ring on the train tracks after an argument. She was then struck by the train. She has been seen at the location in a purple old-fashioned dress, possibly still searching for her engagement ring.

2.) The Smith House (2601 Sunnyside Avenue, Salt Lake City - Old Deseret Village) - Visiting this village is like taking a step back in time where the park employees dress up in the style of the 1800s, demonstrate the way people lived back then, and take people on tours of the old homes, including the home of Mary Fielding and Hiram Smith. Though many of the para-psychological phenomena that hangs around the village is considered friendly, there is one that isn't - Mary. She has been seen on several occasions, standing at her doorway and shaking her finger at those passing by (probably because her house once was moved and placed facing the opposite direction).

3.) Brigham Young Farmhouse (2601 East Sunnyside Avenue, Salt Lake City) - This is the Place Hertitage Park has more than one haunted house and this one is considered the most haunted in Salt Lake City because of several ghostly sightings. One of the most notable ones was in 1970 when the house owners, the Wilcoxes, had a celebration after restoring the house. A man in 1800s attire came up to them and they had a conversation about the home and a photo taken. Later, when the photo was developed, the place where the young man stood was empty.

4.) Old City Hall - Draper (12441 South 900 East, Draper) - This old building used to be a schoolhouse before it became city hall. Located near the city cemetery, it makes sense that late at night voices and footsteps have been heard echoing through the halls and lights turning on and off. One employee reports the air temperature dropping drastically before he saw an apparition of a woman that disappeared after a few seconds.

5.) Capitol Theatre (50 W 200 S, Salt Lake City) - in 1949 a young man died in a fire at the theater and now he mischievously haunts backstage. Featured on the Syfy channel in 2012, George the ghost plays tricks on the theater staff, including talking, making noises, unplugging cords, and causing the elevators to malfunction. The smell of smoke is also an occasional occurrence.